Safety in Austria

Overall: Austria is exceptionally calm and walking at night is unremarkable even in outer suburbs. Serious crime is rare and the police are polite and effective.
Pickpockets: The one real problem, concentrated in busy parts of Vienna and around the stations. Watch your bag at St Stephen's and on crowded trams, and never use a back pocket.
Mountains: The Alps do not forgive poor kit or casual planning. Weather changes within the hour, so take warm layers and check the Bergfex forecast before setting out.
Rescue costs: A helicopter evacuation starts around 5,000 euros. If you plan to hike or ski, confirm your insurance actually covers mountain rescue and repatriation.
Quiet hours: Silence is observed after ten at night and neighbours are sensitive about it. On Sundays even mowing a lawn or using a drill is prohibited.
Water: Tap water is superb across the whole country, Vienna included, piped in from the mountains. It is often better than the bottled water sold for two euros a litre.

Austria is one of Europe's safest countries. Schemes against tourists barely exist, but two recur.

"Mozart concert" ticket sellers. In central Vienna, by St Stephen's Cathedral and along Kärntner Strasse, men in eighteenth-century costume and wigs sell concert tickets. Some of these concerts are ordinary mid-level tourist programmes at philharmonic prices, and some tickets are not valid at all. Buy at the venues' own box offices: the Musikverein, Konzerthaus and Staatsoper.

Pickpockets. Stephansplatz, metro lines U1 and U3, the Prater during fairs, and the Christmas markets. The level is lower than in Italy or Spain, but not zero.

Taxis. Meters are compulsory; fixed tariffs and the CAT train serve Schwechat airport. Private drivers outside the door charge double.

ATMs. Decline the machine's currency conversion.

Ski and equipment hire. Damage claims on return do occur. Record the condition when you collect.

The vignette is the commonest tourist fine. Austrian motorways require a vignette — a sticker or a digital one, bought in advance at a filling station or online. The fine for not having one is issued on the spot and bears no relation to the price of the vignette itself. Certain tunnels and mountain roads — the Brenner, the Grossglockner — are tolled separately.

Quiet hours. Ruhezeit runs from 22:00 to 06:00 and all day Sunday. Neighbours call the police without hesitation.

Crossing on red is fineable, as in Germany.

Mountain rules. The FIS rules apply on the piste and carry legal force: in a collision, fault lies with whoever was above or failed to keep distance. Helmets are compulsory for children in most federal states. Going beyond the marked area when slopes are closed is grounds for an insurer to refuse.

Drones. Registration is compulsory, and flights over Vienna and national parks are prohibited.

Alcohol. The purchase age varies by state: in most, beer and wine from 16 and spirits from 18.

Drugs. The law is strict, with no leniency.

Vaccinations. None mandatory, but one is worth discussing: Austria is endemic for tick-borne encephalitis and locals are vaccinated almost universally. If you plan forests, cycling or hiking, it is justified.

Water. Vienna's tap water is Alpine spring water fed by gravity from mountain sources and reckoned among the best in the world. Drink it anywhere.

The mountains are the main risk. The Austrian Alps are friendly in their arrangement, and that deceives: a marked trail does not mean an easy one. Weather turns within an hour, fog arrives suddenly, and snow lies at altitude into June. Summer deaths are mostly on hiking trails, winter ones in avalanches off-piste.

Rescue is not free. The key point: helicopter evacuation in Austria costs several thousand euros, and ordinary travel insurance does not cover it. You need a policy with adventure activities and mountain evacuation — or membership of the Alpenverein, which includes rescue.

Healthcare. Excellent and expensive. Emergency treatment is given to everyone and billed afterwards.

Emergency numbers: 144 ambulance, 140 mountain rescue, 112 unified.

Austria ranks high on the Corruption Perceptions Index. Bribes do not exist, and offering money will work against you.

Numbers. 133 for police, 112 for the European line.

Reporting theft. An Anzeige can be filed at any station, and Vienna has stations with English-speaking officers. The certificate for your insurer is issued immediately.

Identity checks. Police may establish your identity; carry a passport copy.

Traffic police. Many speed traps, with fines either automatic or issued on the spot with immediate payment demanded from foreigners. The vignette, speed and parking in a Kurzparkzone are the three main sources.

Mountain rescue. Bergrettung is a separate service on 140. Call as soon as it becomes clear you will not get down before dark: rescuers would rather turn out for nothing than search at night.

Attitude. The police are formal and correct, and English is spoken in cities and resorts.